Random access is utilized in broadband networks such as networks compliant with a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard or similar networks for the device or user equipment (UE) to get access to the network since there is no dedicated channel in LTE networks unlike in the legacy Third Generation (3G) networks. In the future, it is expected that there will be a large number (i.e., billions) of Fixed Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices in deployment with a portion of such fixed devices having Mobile Broadband access. Random access in 3GPP LTE Release 8 and beyond (Rel. 8+) may be optimized to support mobile devices. However, for fixed devices, the randomness of communications may be reduced significantly in comparison with the randomness of mobile devices. Moreover, the access latency specifications for most fixed M2M devices may vary significantly from that for mobile devices. As a result, using the current Random Access mechanisms in 3GPP LTE Rel. 8+ may be inefficient for supporting fixed devices.
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